The Rules of Photography

With every sport, there are a set of rules.Someone who excels at tennis, or baseball, or
skiing only came to that point of achievement through knowing the rules and
following them.In a similar manner,
there are also rules in the field of photography. Certain rules are subjective to the scene and
the subject matter and others are more concrete.

The two biggest photography rules involve exposure and
composition.Photography is all about
capturing light.Therefore, "good"
exposure in an image means that the photograph contains the right amount of
light.The rules of exposure are
fixed.The decisions made to achieve the
desired exposure have to take into account the way a camera functions to
capture light.Composition, on the other
hand, is more objective.Composition is
about the placement of the objects in the photo.It relies heavily on the photographer's
choice.

The first thing every photographer must learn about the
rules of photography is to follow them.There is a trend nowadays to break the rules.But in order to break the rules effectively
and still have a good product, you must first learn what they are.For a beginning photographer, the rules do
serve a purpose.They are a starting
point to an ability to make right choices in different situations.Knowing the rules generates more, better quality
photographs. It removes the guesswork
most beginners feel.It is by following
the rules that a photographer knows when he or she needs to break them, and can
do it effectively.However, one word of
caution - Never make rule breaking the norm!

Exposure

The rules of exposure involve three primary factors:ISO, Aperture, and Shutter Speed.These three things are interdependent on each
other.Changing one alters another.Individually, they each also only do certain
things.A higher ISO will always create
more noise in an image.A smaller
aperture will always give more detail, and a slower shutter speed will always cause
more blurring.Proper exposure comes
from knowing how these three affect each other and thus making the right choice
for each scene.

Exposure itself should match whatever the lighting is in
that situation.For example, a moonlit
beach should look moonlit and not like midday.In this sense, exposure becomes more objective.The rules for ISO, aperture, and shutter
speed, are fixed.However, a
photographer uses them to replicate certain types of lighting.When reviewing myphotographs, I ask myself if the lighting looks
like what I saw when I was there.Does
it look like an overcast day or not?Exposure is the most important thing to learn.Bad exposure will destroy an image.Yes, sometimes editing can correct certain
issues, but one should never rely on editing.A photographer's goal is to get it right in the camera without having to
change anything afterward.

Composition

Composition decides where to place the different shapes and
textures in a scene.There are certain
general rules about composition.The two
foremost involve choosing between a horizontal or vertical image format and
using the "Rule of Thirds".This makes
composition for each individual image more the choice of the photographer.I must ask myself what I am trying to
achieve.What is the main object in this
photograph?I must also pay attention to
the "movement" of that object.

Now, "movement" does not specifically mean the subject is
actually moving.Instead, it is shape
and feel.Ask yourself if your subject
is tall and thin or short and wide.Does
it seem to spread out, or up?Flowers
are always a great example.Longer
flowers need more vertical space than round ones.For the one I would use a vertical format and
for the other perhaps a horizontal one. In landscape scenes, are you featuring the
building in the corner or the street trailing off into the distance?

In making decisions of this nature, I also ask myself how
much "negative space" I want to leave."Negative space" is the area surrounding your main subject.If the flower is long and thin, then too much
negative space could cause it to look lost in the photograph.In reverse, too little negative space might
cut off your subject. Proper placement
of the subject in the scene will always affect the amount of negative space and
its location.Usually it is best to
leave the subject some "breathing room", especially if you are photographing
objects that are not stationary.Flying
birds or a running sports player need to have somewhere they "are headed"
too.Otherwise, they look as if they are
running into an invisible wall at the foreword edge of your image.

Once you have chosen your format, you must take into account
the infamous "Rule of Thirds".The "Rule
of Thirds" divides each image into three pieces both horizontally and
vertically.This creates a grid with nine squares.Each of the inner points of
those squares is a location where your subject might be placed.The idea behind the rule is to avoid
centering an object and thus visually cutting it in half.

Horizons are the best example.Horizon lines, when centered usually distract
from the scene.Horizons should
generally be placed low to feature the sky, or high to feature the
foreground.They should also be
straight, or level.The fact is crooked
horizons confuse most viewers.

Now, I myself have broken the centering rule when I felt the
resulting photograph would be more effective.Often, I choose to center an object because its shape leans more that
direction.Circular objects are a good
example.A photo looking up into a domed
ceiling usually works better with some centering.A round flower often needs centering to avoid
cutting off portions of the petals.I
never make this a habit, however, but in the end return to the "Rule of Thirds"
as my guideline.

Photographs are created through the vision of the
photographer.This is what makes them
each unique.I find it as fascinating to
look at pictures of street scenes with people walking by, colorful signs, or
slowly decaying architecture, as I do preening birds or softly running
streams.However, what makes these
different images stand out in my thinking is usually one of these two
elements.The combination of the right
exposure and a suitable composition either make an image outstanding or destroy
it altogether.